Emotions Left Unspoken
by nightdragon0
Summary: Told through the eyes of a Blaziken & Bayleef, whose trainers were childhood friends. While a chance meeting stirs up old feelings between both trainers and Pokemon, being caught in a snowstorm throws them into a desperate fight for survival! (Completed)
1. Rain on My Parade

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

_Author's note: Well, this is one of the many 'random' ideas I've had floating around in my head that I've actually had enough of to write out. This'll be a short one, but I hope you'll enjoy reading!_

* * *

**Rain on My Parade**

By nightdragon0

I stared the humongous Feraligatr straight in the eye.

My opponent certainly looked confident, as expected too since he was at the Elemental advantage. However, he didn't know what he was getting into.

"Uriel, ready?" Came the familiar voice from behind me.

"Hey Leo, I was born ready!" I grinned.

"Thought you might say that." Leo whispered.

"Feraligatr go! Slash attack!" The trainer on the other side shouted.

The alligator came at me with both claws raised.

"Enter!" Leo called, through I already had the idea.

As his arms came down, I moved in between them so that I was at point blank range with the Feraligatr's chin. And I gave him a hard whack of my fist for that, sending the water-type to the ground.

"Lesson 1, don't leave your chin exposed buddy!" I taunted.

"Grrr...I'll make sure you pay for that!" Feraligatr growled, pulling himself to his feet.

"Hydro Pump!" His trainer ordered.

"Move it Uriel!!" Leo warned.

I rolled to the side, then sidestepped another burst of water. My opponent hesitated, and I took the opportunity to rush in. Feraligatr snapped at me with his jaws, but I flipped over his body and kicked him from behind, using the momentum to execute a fancy somersault as my opponent went face-first into the sandy floor.

"Don't think anyone ever found victory in the dirt, eh?" I laughed, folding my arms.

"Gargh!!" The aggravated Feraligatr yelled.

"Mud Slap!"

"Huh?! Argh!!" I stumbled backward, having a fistful of mud thrown into my face. The Feraligatr followed up by punching me in the stomach, knocking me over.

"Uriel!"

"Urgh...I'm OK!!" I muttered, annoyed at being caught off guard.

"Feraligatr! Ice Punch!"

"Fire Punch, Uriel!!"

His icy claw met my fiery fist, creating a large burst of steam. I drew back my fist in pain, but so did my opponent. Instinctively, my other hand came forward, slapping the side of his face.

"Haven't learnt, have you?!" I snarled.

"RRRARRRR!!" Feraligatr lunged at me with both arms.

I ducked under his right arm and stepped behind him, one hand grabbing his shoulder and the other pulling his elbow. That resulted in him stumbling to his right, leaving his back wide open for a Sky Uppercut.

I was pretty oblivious to the two trainers shouting commands as I floated the Feraligatr. But what goes up usually comes down, and such, so did his body.

Not before I used a somersault style Blaze Kick to send him flying again, watching in satisfaction as he finally hit the ground and lay there, defeated.

His trainer ran to his fallen comrade's side, and Leo walked over to shake hands, leaving me standing off to the side.

Feraligatr moaned, managing to lift his head and glance towards me.

"Gurgh...how...?"

"Take heed, you lost to the best." I laughed. With my back towards him, I turned my head over my shoulder and gave a thumbs-up. "I'm Uriel the Blaziken, remember that."

* * *

"Nice job Uriel." Leo was saying. "Had me worried there for a while."

"Nah, I wouldn't lose to a big dummy like that." I folded my arms, leaning back in the chair. "You worry too much partner."

That's my 18 year old trainer for you. Strong built, tall and black haried. Well, it's been that way for a long while, since I was his starter Pokemon. And such, even through I speak my own language, Leo understands most of what I say.

The two of us were seated at a roadside cafe, enjoying a short rest after that earlier battle. If there's one thing about a Blaziken like me, it's that I'm built very human-like. Meaning, I can use a whole bunch of human facilities without any problem.

"Hmmm...that bunch of kids at the other table are staring at us." Leo noted.

"Hey, they think I'm cool right?" I laughed. "Well, why shouldn't they? I'm the hottest and the coolest! They want me to pose for a photo shoot?"

"No, I think they just like the sunglasses." Leo said, snatching his shades off my face.

"Gee, thanks for bursting my bubble." I muttered, reaching for a glass of water on the table.

Suddenly, the glass moved across the table and out of arm's length.

"Hey, what the?! Yargh!!" I leaned further, only to have the chair's leg literally yanked out from under me.

I ended up with my back on the floor and opened my eyes to find an 'upside down', Bayleef's face nose to beak with mine.

"Hiya beak-face! How ya doing?! Been a while, eh?"

"Huh? Taryn?!" I gasped, pulling myself to a sitting position. "Ow...haven't quit with your old tricks, I see."

"Yep!" Taryn giggled.

"Then, is Kysta here?"

"Yeah, right over there."

I looked up to see Leo's childhood friend approaching. Taryn and herself have been together for a long time, and get over the language barrier as well as Leo and I do. She was slightly shorter than him, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Leo had apparently noticed it too, and stood up.

"Hey!" Kysta waved. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's so great to see you..." Leo knelt down. "Hiya Taryn, how you doing?"

"Great!" The Bayleef leapt into his arms, snuggling him.

(Everyone else faints.)

WHAM!!

"LEO!! What about me??" Kysta fumed.

"Oh, hi Kys, didn't see you." Leo said, rubbing his head. "Guess I should've expected it since Taryn's here."

"LEO!! You're so mean!! Is this the way you greet an old friend?!" Kysta yelled.

"Erm...try to relax Kysta..." I began, waving my arms.

"Relax?!"

I backed away. Wonderful, a Blaziken like me getting talked down to by a human girl.

"I can't relax now!! I...grrrr...nevermind!"

_Geez, with all that smoke coming out of her ears, she'd make a good Charizard. _I thought. Of course, I didn't want to be the one to say that to her.

"You like this Taryn? It's a new recipe." Leo smiled, feeding Taryn with a handful of biscuits.

She was also giving me a sneaky wink.

* * *

"So, you're headed to the next town?" Leo asked, leaning against his car door.

"Yeah, and it's a long way." Kysta nodded. "Well, I was wondering..."

"You guys want a lift right? Well, it's lucky you ran into us then! Hop in!"

"Thanks!"

Kysta stepped into the front passenger seat while Taryn and I got into the back seat.

"Hey, perhaps you could help me out Kysta." Leo pulled out a large map. "I've been told that there's a shortcut through this snowy mountain pass. I've got to concentrate on the road if we want to get there faster and unfortunately, Uriel isn't good with maps."

"Hey!" I snarled in protest.

"You gotta be able to read some numbers to get the maps right, break-face." Taryn told me.

"Well, I can!"

"Oh yeah? What's 2 plus 2?" She grinned.

"Gurgh...erm...well...22!"

"Hah! Gotacha!"

"Humph!" I folded my arms. "Well, I'd kick your butt in a battle any day!"

"Guys are so barbaric. Is fighting all you think about?"

"Hey! At least I don't need to have a bunch of eggs up my..."

SLAP!!

"Mind your language, this isn't an adult rated fic, you know." Taryn said, withdrawing her vines.

"Grrr...that's it! I challenge you to a battle once we're at the next town!!" I declared.

"Want to get your tail whipped, don't you?! Fine, accepted!!"

Meanwhile, Leo and Kysta had finished looking over the map.

"What's going on back there?" Leo asked.

"Oh, nothing." Taryn gave him an innocent look (with an angelic halo appearing over her head).

"All right, just checking. Buckle up you two! This is going to be a long trip!"

_Somebody help... _I moaned.

* * *

Most of the road trip was rather silent and uneventful.

For me, I found myself growing increasingly impatient. Taryn's my arch-rival in battle. We've know each other since we were hatchlings, and pretty much know each other's moves by heart.

Although somehow, Taryn seems to be able to predict my moves before I can do them.

I clenched a fist, remembering the last time, when she'd won by tripping me up and causing me to fall into a pond. Not that Leo blamed me for not being able to swim, but I was pissed off nevertheless.

As if on cue, Taryn looked towards me.

"Better hope there isn't a pond nearby this time." She winked. "Then again, you should probably learn to swim in waist-deep water sometime."

"Humph." I huffed, turning away.

"Psss...hey!" Taryn extended a vine and tapped me on the shoulder.

"What?"

"Not so loud." She whispered. "I don't want them to hear this."

"Leo and Kysta? Why?"

"Have you noticed anything odd about them, you know, when they're together?"

"Huh?"

"You know, acting sorta weird. Being a little shy."

Yeah, thinking about it, Leo's usually a lot more talkative than this." I nodded, noting that Leo seemed completely focused on driving while Kysta was silently staring out the window.

"Not just that, but..." Taryn looked to the side. "Kysta's been sending a bunch of e-mails recently."

"E-mails? Oh, that message thing with the computer?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, Leo does that sometimes. I can't really read much of what he writes, but there's usually these three symbols at the end. A..."

"A pink heart, a red rose and a sunflower?" Taryn asked.

"That's exactly it..." I stared at her. "How did you know?"

"Because those symbols are always at the end to the e-mails Kysta's reading and...of course!" Taryn realized. "They're being sent to Leo!"

"Huh? Say what?!"

"He's a guy and she's a girl! Don't you get it?!"

"Erm..."

"Damn, you're so dense!"

"Hey, Leo's always so hesitant about replying to those mails."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there was once he sat in front of the computer for half an hour, then turned it off without sending the message."

"Wow! That really proves it! They DO like each other!" Taryn said happily.

"You think our trainers like each other because they're sending a bunch of e-mails?" I muttered. "Gimme a break."

"No, it shows that Leo's just too shy to admit how he feels. And Kysta, what she's writing is a bunch of gibberish. She really just wants to talk to Leo."

"Then why don't either of them say something now?!"

"Well, human courtship rituals are really complicated."

"I think you just want to be around Leo because he pampers you so much." I growled.

"Hey, that's not it!" She protested.

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

I was about to reply when a loud explosion startled all of us.

"Aw man!" Leo leapt out of the car and opened the front panel.

"What happened?" Kysta asked, stepping out as well.

"Did I bust a gear or something?" Leo muttered, fiddling with the engine components.

Taryn and I climbed out, standing by the side as our partners tried to fix the machine.

"This wire...goes here..." Leo was saying under his breath.

"Hey, don't put the red wire there!" Kysta warned.

"I know what I'm doing!"

"No you don't!"

"Just wat...argh!!"

BOOM!!

Smoke erupted as another small explosion took place, sending everyone diving for cover.

"Leo!!" Kysta said angrily. "You idiot!!"

"OK, my mistake! I'm sorry!" He sighed. "Everyone all right?"

"AARRRGGGHHHH!!"

All heads turned towards Taryn, who was screaming as a tiny flame had gotten onto the leaf on her head.

"Help! Help! Fire!! Fire!! ARRRGGHH!!" She screamed, running in circles round the car.

"Taryn stand still!" Kysta ordered, only to be completely ignored by the panicked Bayleef.

"Hargh!" Timing myself, I stepped out in front of Taryn and slapped my palms together, putting out the fire with a single hit.

Taryn stared at me, wide-eyed, before collapsing.

"Taryn! Are you OK?! Taryn?!" I asked. "Haven't you heard of stop, drop, roll?"

SLAP!! One of her vines immediately went into my face.

"Are you trying to kill me or something?!" She fumed. "And you messed up my leaf head!! Do you know how long it took to get that in shape?!"

"You're welcome..." I snarled, rubbing my cheek.

"Humph!"

"Humph!"

"Aw, isn't that so cute!" Leo commented. "I didn't know you had a soft spot for her, Uriel."

"What was that they say?" Kysta scratched her head. "You always hate the one you like?"

"Me?! Like her?!"

"What?! This blockhead?!"

Taryn and I glanced towards each other and simultaneously stuck out our tongues.

"But back to business, what now?" Kysta asked.

"The car isn't moving anywhere...but..." Leo opened the map. "There's an inn pretty close to our location."

"How close?"

"About 45minutes, but it involves a trek through the snow." Leo pointed away from the road. "That cuts the traveling time down significantly."

"Is that safe?" Kysta wondered.

"It's a marked path, and besides, it won't be long."

"We'd better hurry then. It's getting dark and the temperature's dropping." Kysta noted.

A chilly wind blew past, almost as if to hurry us on.

"Yeah, let's go." Leo nodded, pulling out his jacket.

* * *

"Is this the right way?" Kysta muttered.

"The map says it is." Leo insisted.

"Cause I'm sure we've been walking for much longer than 45minutes."

The seemingly ground level path we'd started on had sloped upwards and taken us up into a mountain range. All the coniferous trees and other landmarks had been left in the valley below. The path significantly narrowed down too. However, we'd also passed the last of the marker pillars about 10 minutes ago and hadn't come across any others since, giving everyone a cause for concern.

I was starting to shiver from the cold, and I couldn't imagine what the others were feeling. But whatever it was, the stress seemed to put Leo and Kysta in a very bad mood.

"Kys, I know what I'm doing!"

"Where have I heard that before?!" Kysta said angrily. "Let me see the map!"

"Hey, be careful with it!" Leo pulled back as Kysta tried to grab the map out of his hands.

"Whoa, calm down you two!" I gasped.

At that moment, Leo decided to let go, just as Kysta pulled hard and slipped. The flimsy map was caught in a strong gust of wind and flew over the edge of the path. All of us stared as it disappeared into the shadowed trees below.

"Great! This is all your fault Leo!!" Kysta shouted.

"My fault?!" Leo protested.

"Yes! Are you trying to freeze us alive out here or something?! At least I got a look at the map earlier, and the inn's this way!"

The trail in front of us split into two paths, having been obstructed by a mountain rising through the center. Kysta had stepped towards the left-side path.

"No, it was the right path!" Leo insisted.

"You were probably reading the thing upside down." Kysta snorted.

"Hey! I'm trying to help everyone out here!"

"Then do me a favor, and don't do me any more favors!" Kysta stormed off down the left path.

"Fine! Go freeze to death for all I care!!" Leo waved his arms furiously before stepping onto the right hand path.

Taryn and I glanced at our respective partners, then at each other. We were lost, and neither Leo nor Kysta wanted to admit it. To make things worse, the winds were brewing up again and it was getting both darker and colder.

"This is a bad idea, splitting up..." I commented. "What do we do now? We're going to have to follow our partners. So much for whatever was between them, eh?"

"No! That isn't true!" Taryn yelled, causing me to jump. "Can't you talk to Leo or something?"

"Leo doesn't listen to anyone, even me, when he's this mad."

"Uriel! What are you waiting for?!"

"Taryn!! Come on!!"

The two of us looked towards our partner's callings before turning back to each other.

"Kysta's just like that too." Taryn sighed. "Hey, I've got an idea, I'll go after Leo. He might listen to me."

"Yeah right." I waved. "There you go with you and Leo again..."

"This isn't about that, OK? Please, trust me! I'll watch Leo's back, but then, I..."

"You don't want to leave Kysta alone, right?"

"Yeah, so..."

"I'll take care of her, don't worry." I smiled. "Besides, you still owe me a battle!"

"Fine. But don't you dare let anything happen to Kysta, promise?"

"Jeez, don't go all mushy on me..."

"Promise?" She repeated firmly.

"Fine, I promise." I replied.

"Thanks, Uriel." Taryn nodded, before running off. "You're a really great friend, you know."

As I moved down the opposite path, it hit me.

_Wait a second! She wasn't being sarcastic like she usually is. Then, did she actually...mean that?_


	2. Night of the Storm

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Night of the Storm**

By nightdragon0

**Taryn **

I'm quite sure Leo knew I was the one following him the whole time, even through he never turned back. Form there, it was likely that he guessed Uriel went with Kysta instead.

Finally, he stopped and sighed.

"Hey Taryn, I blew it again, didn't I?"

I couldn't think of a way to respond, so I remained silent.

"Every time I want to say something, it never comes out the way I expect it to." Leo sat down by the side of the path. "Words can't always describe what's in your heart."

"I suppose..." I nodded.

"You and Uriel, you want to help us make up, don't you? It's really nice of you, but..."

Leo shook his head.

"Great, here I am spilling my guts to a little dinosaur with a leaf on her head."

"Hey!" I protested.

"Sorry." He patted my head. "I can't even get the message to you. But well, you're with Kysta a lot, so what do you think I should do?"

"Erm...well..." That was something I didn't really want to be asked.

"Let's say if you were in my position with Uriel instead, what would you do?" Leo shrugged with a smile.

My eyes went wide in shock.

"OK, maybe that was a bad comparison."

I extended a vine and whacked him on the head.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Quite beating around the bush!" I practically yelled. "If you really like her, go apologize first and tell her how you feel!"

Leo's learnt to understand my language almost as well as Uriel's, and with the additional help of waving my vines and putting on a face for emphasis, he got the idea.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He nodded. "I suppose we should go back for them and...huh?"

Leo had just notice lights further up the pathway.

"Taryn, come on!"

Together, we jogged up the path and found ourselves at the entrance of the small inn.

"You've barely made it in time son." The innkeeper, a white bearded old man, spoke as we entered. "A storm's blowing up, and it's getting mighty chilly out there."

"Wait, a snow storm?" Leo gasped.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine here."

"No, I had a friend who went down the left path. Is that..."

"Hold on, the one leading down to the valley?"

"Valley?! That one on the map with those steep paths?!" Leo's face was extremely flushed. "No...Kysta and Uriel! I have to go back for them!!"

"Wait kid! It's too dangerous!" The innkeeper protested. "The storms coming from the left side of the mountain! It'll hit this area any minute now!! It's..."

Ignoring the rest of his sentence, I followed Leo out the door.

"Taryn, you stay here! You can't handle the cold!" He ordered.

"No way, I'm coming." I gave him a firm stare. "I care about the people out there as much as you do!"

"Taryn..."

* * *

**Uriel **

"Just why are you following me?" Kysta snapped. "I don't need a bodyguard, you know."

At that moment, she stumbled and I dashed forward to catch her arm.

"But you'll need some help." I told her.

Kysta glanced towards me and looked around.

"Taryn's not here. I take it she went after Leo?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Jeez, that guy..." Kysta moaned. "I just...just...argh! Great!"

"Taryn really is just like you." I commented. "Thickheaded, unappreciative and unable to admit that she'd wrong."

I didn't realize however that Kysta understood every word I said.

"Thickheaded?! Hey, don't think I didn't catch that! I 'hear' you as well as I do for Taryn!"

"Eep..." I backed away.

"Don't worry buddy, I guess, well...I am too stubborn sometimes." She sighed.

"Hey, you know Leo is that way too." I shrugged.

"Is that why you two are trying to get us together?"

"Yeah. Huh?! No!" I stammered. "I mean...it was Taryn's idea!"

"Oh, forget it!" Kysta continued walking forward for a bit, but suddenly stopped. "Hey, you feel that?"

"Yeah, it feels like...whoa!!"

A strong gust of icy cold wind howled past us. Kysta let off a short scream and I instinctively shielded her with my body. A harsh storm was definitely brewing up. And it was coming at the narrow trail with full force.

Frantically, I studied the surroundings. One side of the trail went against the mountainside, while the other led right off a steep slope, down to the barely visible forest below. The cliff leading downwards was blocked only by a flimsy set of wooden railings.

"This is not a good position to be in!" Kysta shouted over the raging winds. "We have to get back to the junction!"

"I know!!"

Clinging onto each other, we slowly made our way back along the path. The winds were getting stronger and blowing snow and ice into our faces. Snarling in frustration, I wiped the snow out of my eyes as I tried to concentrate on the path.

As much as I wanted to just burst out with my flames, it wouldn't be of any help in this situation. That was my forte put to waste.

I'm not sure if it was Kysta or myself, but one of us lost our footing, stumbling and dragging the other down with him. What I know was that I shoved Kysta against the mountainside, the force of the motion pushing me dangerously close towards the edge of the cliff.

"Uriel!!"

I went down on all fours, desperately digging my claws into the ground. All I caught however was snow and water, causing me to slide further and further away.

"Uriel!" Kysta was tensing to rush forward and help me.

"No! It's too dangerous!" I yelled.

"Oh shut up and give me your claw!"

Kysta stubbornly pressed forward. With one hand, I shoved my fluttering mane out of my face and stretched, our fingers drawing closer and closer.

Suddenly, the wooden railings nearby were blown apart. As they came flying towards us, I leapt up and shoved Kysta down.

I heard a loud bang as the planks smashed into my head, and saw nothing but blackness after that.

* * *

**Taryn**

"Over there!!" I pointed.

Braving the fierce storm, Leo and I pushed ourselves back down the path, round the bend and onto the left-hand trail our friends had taken earlier. We were running without regard to our own danger of slipping on the icy ground, but because of that, we were able to spot the two figures in time.

"Kysta! Uriel!!" Leo yelled.

"Leo?! Here!!" Kysta looked up. "Hurry! He's hurt!!"

Kysta was down on her knees, with both hands grabbing onto Uriel's front claws. The Blaziken was lying facedown on the floor and not moving, save the winds which were dragging his limp body along.

I realized that there were red blood stains in the snow, close to his head.

Instead of rushing in immediately, Leo hesitated, squinting. I didn't understand why until I tried to move closer for myself.

By some stroke of luck, Leo and I had paused beside a large, rocky outcropping with a slight alcove in the mountain side. That combination created a reasonable shelter that gave the two of us some protection from the winds, which were blowing against the 'sheltered area' instead.

However, Kysta and Uriel didn't have the luxury of that protection.

"Aaarrrgghhhhh!!" Kysta screamed, as the pair began to slide closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Catch this!" I shouted, shooting a vine out as far as I could.

Kysta caught my vine with one hand and pulled it around Uriel and herself. Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough to pull them both back.

"Give me another vine!" Leo ordered from behind.

Without looking back, I complied and felt him tugging on it before it pulled taunt. Leo had wrapped my vine around a large boulder and I happily tightened my grip, whilst trying to focus on Kysta and Uriel.

Leo's quick thinking stopped me from sliding forward, but I was still stuck trying to haul them back.

"You don't have anymore vines, do you?" Leo called.

"No, this is all I've got!" I replied. "What do you think I am?! A Venusaur?!"

"OK! OK! Then just hold still!"

Using my vines for support, Leo made his way towards the others.

* * *

**Uriel **

"Uriel! Wake up! Please!"

I groaned, opening my eyes to find Leo kneeling over me.

"Ugh...ouch..." I muttered.

"Great! I'm so glad you're all right!" Leo smiled. "You've got several cuts at the side of your face, but it doesn't look like anything serious."

"Boys, I hate to break up this sweet little moment, but we've got to get under some cover!" Kysta cut in.

"There's an alcove shielded from the winds a few feet back, where Taryn is standing!" Leo said.

"Yeah, I saw it too! It might be our only chance!"

"Go, get to Taryn first!" Leo nudged her.

Nodding, Kysta crawled forward, clinging onto Taryn's extended vine.

"Hey Leo..." Kysta turned back. "I..."

"No need to say it now." Leo winked. "We'll talk about it under shelter, OK?"

"Yeah!" Kysta showed him a thumbs-up.

Glancing up, I saw Taryn further ahead, cringing as she faced the blizzard. I reached down and suddenly realized her extended vine was wrapped around my waist.

_Man, Taryn'll be hitting me very hard after this._

"Can you make it Uriel?" Leo looked down with concern.

"I'll manage!" I breathed.

"Take it slow, but carefully!" Leo wrapped one arm around my waist and held on to Taryn's vine with his other hand.

The winds were blowing up much more snow and ice than before, making that short distance seem like miles. I don't know how long it took, but we finally made it within earshot of the girls.

"You owe me, big time!" Taryn called.

"Thanks!" I managed a slight grin.

Kysta reached over Taryn's head and grabbed my claw pulling me towards the relative safety of the alcove.

Some snow abruptly flew into my eyes and I jerked back involuntarily. It startled Leo, and he released his grip on the vine, rolling backwards.

"AARRGHH!!"

"NO!!" I attempted to grab his hand, but missed. The loss of blood was dulling both my reflexes and my vision.

"Leo!!" Taryn released the vine grasping onto the boulder and sent it towards Leo.

My partner was swift enough to grab it, but his body weight and momentum literally dragged Taryn off her feet.

She let go of me in panic, forcing me to roll over and slam my chest against the floor, holding her vine in my claws. Despite that, I was still being dragged towards the edge and Kysta grabbed on to my legs, pulling back as hard as she could.

Time seemed to slow down for me.

Taryn's vine was slipping, and my claws were too numb from the cold to change my grip. I couldn't think...I was barely conscious. I'll remember that scene of Leo handing halfway over the side, Taryn in between and myself, facing both of them.

Then as time returned to normal, her vine slipped from my claws.

Horrified, I watched my trainer and my childhood friend fall over the edge.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!" I tried to go after them, but Kysta held me back.

"Uriel! You can't!" She cried.

"Let me go! I have to! I can't just leave them!!" I roared, clawing about wildly.

My strength however, was completely drained, considering Kysta was able to pull me back by herself.

"Hey!! Anyone there??" Several voices came from the distance.

Multiple sets of lights pierced through the darkness of the storm, indicating that some humans had come.

"Help! Over here! Help!!" Kysta screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her wristwatch had a nightlight, which she flicked on to attract attention. I could barely keep my eyes open as the other humans moved towards our location.

All I could remember was looking over that particular cliff.

* * *

**Taryn**

It was an odd bumping that stirred me back to consciousness. I forced my eyes open and saw Leo's face. He was carrying me, shielding my face and trudging through the snow.

"Leo..."

He had a cut across his forehead, which was still bleeding. He seemed bruised in many places and parts of his outer jacket were torn.

"You'll be all right Taryn." He managed a smile.

"But you..."

"Don't need to worry about me. Just try to stay awake girl."

"Where...are...we?" I asked weakly.

"I don't know." Leo said as he continued.

Despite his weakened state, he continued nudging me ever so often. It seemed like ages of walking through this forested area, but he finally stopped and lay me down at the entrance to a small cavern.

Leo flicked on a lighter through its tiny flame was barely in any competition with the cold. With the light, he studied the cave and seemed satisfied. He moved me as far back in as he could, then sat down beside me.

I moved closer and huddled against him.

"I don't have a Pokeball with me, otherwise, I could..." Leo began.

"No, I'd still stay out here with you!" I yelled. "We can make it through this, right?"

"Taryn..." He whispered. "Yeah...just, keep close."

I responded by pressing my body against his.

"Thanks Taryn, for helping us out back there." Leo said softly.

"It's nothing I wouldn't do for Kysta, and even old beak-face Uriel." I breathed.

The two of us shared a short laugh.

"But speaking of them..."

"I'm sure they're all right." Leo stroked my head. "You believe that, don't you?"

"Yeah."

* * *

**Uriel **

_Let me go! Let me go dammit!! I have to go after them!!_

I was furious, utterly furious at waking up to find myself tied to a stretcher, somewhere inside a building. My jaws were tied shut, and the other restrains held my down at two positions along my arms, legs, torso and chest.

"What do we do?" A nearby human wondered. "He's in a complete rage!"

"I don't know..." Another replied.

"Ugh...just leave him with me." A familiar female voice spoke.

The other humans moved away as Kysta approached.

"Uriel, I'll take the gag off your mouth if you promise not to start spewing flames everywhere, OK?"

"Grrrr..." I managed a muffled growl.

"Uriel!"

Sighing, I nodded and allowed Kysta to remove the gag.

"Get me out of this thing!" I snapped. "I have to go after them Kysta!!"

"Uriel, you're in bad shape! You can hardly even stand!! You'll freeze if you go back out!!"

"I don't care!! They mean everything to me!!" I yelled, tugging at the restrains.

"Then what about me?!" Kysta snapped.

"Huh...I...oh..." I fell silent.

Kysta leaned over the stretcher and I saw several claw marks on her left cheek, in addition to a bandage around her head.

"Did I...do that to you?" I bit my tongue, remembering my infuriated state of mind earlier.

"Forget about it, I understand." She replied. "But the others..."

"There's nothing we can do?"

"The storm's gotten far too intense. They can't go out now to look for them." Kysta turned away, sniffing. "But Leo...he's good at this outdoor survival stuff, right? I'm sure you know."

"Not the best, but he does it well." I nodded as best as I could from my lying position.

I felt the bandages at my left shoulder, at my left thigh and several plasters on my face. My muscles were stiff and aching from the cold.

My stretcher had been left close to a window, which I looked out to see nothing but the night sky and snow being blown past.

"Not a star in sight tonight." Kysta muttered, for the lack of anything else to say. "Sky's all dark tonight."

"Leo likes talking about it though." I told her. "About how the clearest skies..."

"...are infinitely high." Kysta finished. "I know that one too. He likes to say that in our e-mails. It's his way of brightening the mood. It's like above all our troubles, the clear blue skies are way up there, bringing light upon the darkness."

I turned and glanced out the window again.

"I know you did your best." Kysta assured me. "But now, let's believe in him then. Him and Taryn..."

As much as I wanted to do something, Kysta was right. I could only close my eyes and pray.

* * *

**Taryn**

_Cold...freezing..._

I just couldn't get that out of my mind.

"Taryn!" Leo shook me. "You hear that?"

"That...hey...yeah."

An odd sound drew us both to the cavern's entrance. It was a soft fluttering of wings, yet somehow audible through the storm.

"What the...?!" Leo muttered.

The storm made everything so difficult to see, but this shape seemed to have a bluish glow of its own. Hovering high up in the sky, it was...a bird-like shape, with wings that seemed almost translucent.

"Is that...?" I wondered.

"I just...don't know..." Leo and I weakly drew back into the cavern. "Perhaps this...is our fate..."

Suddenly, something shook. No, the entire cavern was trembling.

"The storm must be pretty bad if it's causing the cave to shake this much." Leo gasped. "And this place doesn't seem like it can take the shocks. Hold on Taryn!"

Leo grabbed me and begun to run.

Looking over his shoulder, I saw large pieces of rock falling from the ceiling. The loud crashing noises caused by them hitting the ground seemed to be creeping right up to us, becoming louder and louder as Leo dashed for the entrance.

I felt the cold wind from outside, and all of a sudden, I was sent spinning through the air. Everything was a blur, and I couldn't tell one thing from the other.

Then, a strange calmness came over me.


	3. Blue Skies

_Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission._

* * *

**Blue Skies**

By nightdragon0

Despite my weariness, the thoughts of my friends out there in the cold kept me awake the entire night. That left me both physically and mentally drained by morning, but I wouldn't miss my chance to go out and search for Leo and Taryn.

The storm had subsided just half an hour earlier and the inn's occupants had organized themselves into a search party.

"They've already called in a professional search and rescue team, but it'll take them some time to get here since the storm blocked up the roads pretty badly." Kysta explained.

She'd finally managed to convince the humans that my mental condition was stable enough for them to release me. Together, we were walking back towards the site where the accident had happened the previous night.

"I can find them myself..." I insisted. "Ugh..."

"Your shoulder still hurts?"

"No." I lied. Every movement of my arm sent aches up it, but I couldn't think about it now. "It's nothing."

We paused at the cliff, and Kysta brought up a pair of binoculars to look around.

"If they went over, then they should be somewhere down there." Kysta said to herself. "Uriel, can you see anything? Hey! Uriel!!"

Ignoring her calling, I'd leapt over the side and was climbing down, using any jaggered edges and outcroppings as handholds.

"Wait for me! Uriel!! Dammit!" Kysta fumbled to secure a rope to her level in order for her to climb down, allowing me to reach the bottom much earlier.

"Leo!! Taryn!!" I ran ahead, yelling.

I was trying to get all of my exhausted senses to work when something caught my eye. It was a twinkle of blue light, which seemed to come from within the forest in front of me.

Some feeling just made me follow that light, and I charged between the trees, slamming branches, twigs and rocks out of my way.

"Leo! Taryn!! Huh?!"

There was a flicker of movement just off to my right. As I moved closer, I realized that I'd come to the base of a mountain...with a small cavern in its side!

And a small mount of snow shifted slightly.

Heart pounding, I knelt down and dug through the snow.

"Taryn!!" I cried. "Taryn! Speak to me, please!!"

Her body simply felt so cold and silent. In panic, I realized I didn't have the slightest clue about what to do.

Suddenly, Taryn let off a soft moan and opened her eyes.

"Taryn! It's me, Uriel! I'm here! Taryn!"

For a moment, Taryn looked directly into my eyes. In that second, I saw so many emotions in there that I couldn't describe it. It was like, everything each of us had ever wanted to say to the other went between us in an almost telepathic way.

Taryn's head leaned softly against my chest as she closed her eyes. Panting wildly, I racked my brain, trying to come up with something I could do.

It was then that I realized I was feeling only my own breathing.

"Taryn! Taryn! Open your eyes! Please!" I screamed, shaking her limp form.

However, this time there was no response.

_Not now...and not ever again... _

I knelt there for a long time...a very long time. Suddenly, I just let off with a long howl of anguish.

Footsteps sounded behind me as Kysta came running up.

"Is she..." Kysta said softly. "No...Leo!!"

In all my distress, I'd completely missed the figure crumpled just inside the cavern's entrance.

"Leo! Leo!!" Kysta was immediately by his side.

Watching her, I realized that the scene between Taryn and myself was playing out between those two. But when she broke down in tears, I knew the worst had happened.

I'd failed not one, but two friends. And I'd lost them both for that.

I don't know what came over me, but I've never felt this way before. Not even through my battling encounters of wins and losses. I could just pick myself up and carry on.

But what could I do now?! Nothing! I felt so utterly helpless.

Next thing I knew, I'd dropped Taryn's body and was running blindly.

As much as I wanted to scream out loud, I couldn't get the words to form. I wasn't sure if I heard Kysta calling from behind, but I just kept on running.

I felt some warm liquid trickling down my face.

Tears...my tears...

* * *

_"I'm gonna get you Taryn!!" _

_"Just try it break-face!!"_

_"Rargh!!" _

_"Hargh!!" _

_Taryn leapt to the side as I attempted a kicking attack. One of her vines came out and whipped my other leg, throwing me off balance and onto the muddy ground. _

_"Gee, is the big scary birdie all worked up?" She teased. _

_"Hey Uriel! No one ever found victory in the dirt!" Leo called from behind. "Go get her!!"_

_"RRARGGHH!!" I rolled to my feet and charged towards her. _

_Suddenly, Taryn's form began to fade._

_"Huh?! No!!" _

_I whirled around to see Leo disappearing as well._

_"No! Don't leave me!! Please!!"_

_Their voices were fading too, growing softer and softer as a white mist shrouded them from view._

_NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!_

* * *

I snapped my eyes open, seeing nothing but whiteness around. In panic, I drew back and found myself able to stand.

I'd apparently collapsed and had been lying facedown on the snow.

Slowly, reality came back to me, shaking the dream off my mind. But those feelings remained...I could never be with Taryn, or Leo again.

I remembered those times when Leo and Taryn were still young children, when Taryn and myself were at our lowest evolution levels. We used to play around with each other, which eventually turning into battling as well.

That vine trick was something Taryn loved to pull on me, and I never seemed to learn from it.

As our trainers got older, so did we. And we evolved too.

When they both turned 10, Leo and Kysta went their separate ways, and we'd followed them. They'd still meet once in a while through, but now...

_It's never gonna happen again! _I told myself. _Why? Why couldn't I have done something?! What now?! What's life to me without them?! _

In between tears, I realized I was hearing the sound of running water.

I forced my exhausted body forward to find a fast flowing stream running through the mountain pass. As I followed it, it grew wider and eventually ended in a waterfall. Not a very high one through, only about 4 stories.

_It's beautiful..._I thought. _Taryn likes these sorts of things. Leo had a fascination with sketching waterfalls. But they're gone...because of me. Why?_

I kicked up the snow on the floor.

_It should be me who's dead! Not them!! Why?? _

I kicked the ground again and screamed as my foot hit something metallic. I dug a little deeper to find an old, rusted anchor half-buried in the snow.

"What the heck is this doing here?"

I suppose I wouldn't get an answer to that question. However, it made me stop and look down towards the plunge pool below.

_It's deep. _I noted, glancing between it and the anchor.

I'll never know what combination of emotions gave me that idea, but I found myself dragging to anchor close to the edge. It didn't take me long to make my decision.

There was a long chain attached to the end of the anchor and I tied that around my foot. Grunting, I lifted the anchor and stumbled closer to the edge.

_I'll end my agony here...then I can be with Taryn and Leo..._

"Uriel!"

That was Kysta's voice. Somehow, she'd found me again. But it was too late, I was already in mid-air.

* * *

In a flash, I felt the wind rush past me. Then, I plunged into the cold, murky depths.

_At last, I can just...let...go..._

Suddenly, there was another splash.

I jerked my head up in shock. Kysta...she'd...jumped in after me! What the hell was she thinking?!

It was hard to tell her expression, but she immediately grabbed onto me and tried to pull me to the surface. I didn't want to or feel able to physically shove her off. I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping she'd leave.

However, Kysta dove deeper and went for the chain strapped around my right foot. The girl was clearly running out of breath, and yet, she refused to surface.

_Go! Go up! Leave me!! _I indicated.

Kysta suddenly choked in a huge spray of bubbles, accidentally letting too much water into her mouth and choking. She would drown if she stayed down here.

_No! Not you too! Not because of me again!! _

Running short of oxygen myself, I pushed my body towards her, but Kysta had floated out of my reach. I realized her foot had slipped and was stuck between a couple of rocks. Silently screaming in frustration, I tugged at the chain around my ankle.

Unfortunately, it had become even more entangled in the struggle, and I began clawing at it. My muscles began to scream in pain. My injured left shoulder the most of all, dulling and slowing anything I did with my left arm.

But even if I could free myself, I didn't know how to swim.

_I can't...can't...make it..._I felt my body slowly weakening. My thoughts beginning to fade. _No! Leo and Taryn will never forgive me if I let Kysta down too! Come on!! AARRGRGGHH!! _

As I closed my eyes, I saw something. It was in my mind most likely, but I saw that blue light that had led me to Leo and Taryn earlier. It formed into a blue bird with wings that seemed almost translucent.

_A...rtic...uno...? _

The bird flapped his wings and suddenly, the chain in my claws felt much colder than before.

In a final burst of strength, the chain snapped. Pure survival instincts took over as I kicked myself over to Kysta's limp form.

Light...it was shinning through the surface, almost as if indicating a pathway.

I took hold of Kysta, and then I found myself kicking towards the surface.

_The light...it's almost...almost..._

With a roar, we burst to the surface.

* * *

Both of us were coughing and spluttering as we made it to the side, dragging ourselves onto the cold, snowy shore. For a few minutes, both of us lay there, shivering in the chilly winds.

Kysta finally found the strength to sit up and glare down towards me.

"What the hell were you doing?! Trying to kill yourself?!" She panted.

"You...should've left...me..." I muttered, sorely.

"Left you to die?!"

"I couldn't...help...them..."

"And what?! Dying's gonna help bring them back?!"

"I..."

"Me, I, myself, everything's about you!!" Kysta sprang up. "Haven't you learnt anything from Leo?! How about me then?! You don't think I feel I've lost as much as you do?! How'd you think I feel if I lost you too?!"

At a lost for words, I stared back up at her.

_I am being selfish..._I thought. _Kysta...she still had strength to spare when I'd lost all hope. Leo...what am I supposed to do? What would you have wanted me to do? _

"It's about earlier, when he was helping us out, right?" I asked. "You wanted to apologize to him."

"That and more." She said softly. "Now, I'll never get that chance to. Life...it's just so short and precious..."

"Yeah...there were things I wanted to say to Taryn as well." I nodded. "I almost got both of us drowned."

"Forget about it, it was my own fault too."

"No, I thought I didn't have a reason to carry on living." I pulled myself up. "But just now, I almost lost you too. And that feeling was just...so dreadful. Maybe that's why something made me fight so hard to survive. Because I knew Leo and Taryn wouldn't want to let anything happen to you. That's why they came back for us."

"Uriel...wow, you're a lot more complex that you look!"

"So, erm...would you like to have me? You know, as..."

"My Pokemon?" Kysta smiled. "I think Leo would've wanted that too."

With that, I extended a hand, helping my new partner to her feet.

* * *

It's been a couple of years since that incident.

Now, I once again found myself staring into the eyes of a Feraligatr. It just clicked in my head, bringing back memories of the last battle Leo and I had together.

However, this was a Battle Stadium and the arena chosen was a Water battlefield, giving the Feraligatr an even greater advantage.

Or so he thought.

The other trainer ordered his Pokemon to dive underwater, just as we'd expected.

"Uriel, go show him what you can do under there!" Kysta shouted.

With a grin, I stepped off the platform and dove beneath the surface, much to the amazement of the crowd. In particular, the Feraligatr, who stopped shot as I sent a Sky Uppercut into his face, the momentum taking us both out of the water.

As part of the maneuver, I executed a somersault backwards while in mid-air.

In the heat of the moment, all those memories ran through my mind. However, I sometimes wonder if I really did see the Legendary Articuno back then.

Had he been above the water's surface, helping me to break the chain by freezing it? Or was it all a fragment of my imagination, the delusions of a mind in desperation?

That's another thing I'll never find out.

For that instant during my somersault, the blue sky also came into my viewpoint.

_The clearest sky truly is infinitely high, isn't it Leo?_ I smiled in my mind.

Then, it was back to the battle.

**--- END ---**


End file.
